Michael McGovern


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 Shanleys
 Saturday 17th September, 2022
 7:30pm | Session Trail

Michael McGovern is a 25 year old singer / songwriter from Glasgow, Scotland. From picking up the guitar as a child and writing songs from an early age, Michael has defined his folk sound in the thriving music scene in his hometown.

His forthcoming debut album, ‘Highfield Suite’, is a summation of his work since he began writing songs as a teenager. The music mirrors this period of life, focusing primarily on friendship, love, regret and reconciling with your mistakes.

The album prominently features a nylon string fingerpicking guitar, and expansive vocal harmonies. Tipping its hat to some of Michaels great inspirations from Leonard Cohen, to Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Springsteen and Fleet Foxes.

In 2019 Michael released a live single “The Harbour”, with his folk duo Between Brothers.He went on to play four sold out shows in Glasgow, including at the prestigious Celtic Connections festival as a debutant, as well as a Sofar Sounds performance. Michael then went on to perform at Maui Waui Festival in Suffolk, and along with regular weekly performances is building up a loyal following. 

Since the pandemic brought an end to live performance, Michael spent much of 2020 in isolation recording this album. The majority being recorded into a single microphone in a small wooden cabin in Ireland.

The tracks were then expanded alongside Dublin-based producer Bill Shanley (Cauldron Music), engineered by Andrew Holdsworth, and mastered by Denis Blackham (Skye Mastering), who put the finishing touches to this collection of songs.